Biography

Julie O’Dell is the founding partner of the firm’s Orange County office and deputy leader of the Employment and Labor practice. With more than two decades of experience, she focuses her practice on labor and employment law, as well as managing class and collective actions and other complex litigation matters.

She counsels and assists clients on employment-related issues for compliance with federal and state employment laws, including for discipline and termination, requests for accommodation and leaves of absence. She also represents clients against claims of wage and hour violations of California’s Labor Code, including individual, class and representative actions under California’s Private Attorneys General Act.

Julie defends clients against employment-related claims brought under Title VII and has an incredible depth of experience navigating California’s complex employment and labor laws, including California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act, the California Labor Code, California Family Rights Act, California’s Paid Sick Leave and others. She also handles all phases of employment disputes, from pre-litigation stages to trial, before federal and state agencies, arbitrators and courts.

Additionally, Julie reviews and drafts employee handbooks, policies and various employment agreements, and she provides training to employers for addressing harassment, leaves of absence, workplace violence and employee complaints.

Background

Prior to joining Armstrong Teasdale, Julie was partner and vice-chair of the labor and employment practice of a national law firm. She has additional past experience as a lawyer at multiple firms in Missouri and California.

Education

  • University of Missouri School of Law  (J.D., 2000)
    • Order of the Coif
    • Missouri Law Review (Notes and comments editor)
  • University of Missouri  (B.A., 1996)
    • Political Science

Admissions

  • California
  • U.S. District Court, Central District of California
  • U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California
  • U.S. District Court, Northern District of California
  • U.S. District Court, Southern District of California
  • U.S. District Court, District of Kansas
  • U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Missouri
  • U.S. District Court, Western District of Missouri
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit

Professional Activities

  • Orange County Asian American Bar Association – Judicial Committee

Highlights

SEC Extends Whistleblower Protection Rules to Private Business Use of Employee Confidentiality Agreements

Advisory

California Supreme Court Issues Hotly Anticipated Ruling on Arbitration and PAGA Claims

Advisory

What Are the Practical Implications of California Supreme Court’s Recent PAGA Ruling?

Employers will need to assess the merits of a plaintiff’s PAGA standing quite early when faced with a new PAGA action brought by an employee with a valid arbitration agreement. On July 17, 2023...

Continued Economic Headwinds Force Mass Layoffs, Bring State and Federal WARN Laws into Focus

Distressed Bank Response Team

California Pay Transparency and Pay Data Reporting Law: Compliance Deadlines Fast Approaching

Following a wave of pay transparency laws across the nation, California recently enacted Senate Bill (SB) 1162, which imposes several obligations on California employers, including disclosure of pay ranges and certain pay data reporting...

Ninth Circuit Ruling Clarifies “Transportation Worker” Arbitration Exemption

Advisory

Ninth Circuit Rules Federal Arbitration Act Preempts AB51, Paving Way for Mandatory Arbitration Agreements

California disfavors arbitrations in the employment setting and, in 2019, the California Legislature passed AB51 prohibiting companies to require employees to sign arbitration agreements for employment-related disputes as a condition of employment. Contrary to...

California Court of Appeals Decision Reminds Employers to Have Clear, Enunciated IT Systems Use Policy

Electronic communications are an indispensable component of business in today’s world. Every day, employees send emails, text messages and instant messages by the thousands through their corporate email systems and devices, not only for...

News Item

Armstrong Teasdale Announces Employment and Labor Practice Leadership Team

Jeremy Brenner, Alexandra Thaler, Michael Freimann and Julie O'Dell

AI in the Workplace: Is Your Enterprise Intelligent About Artificial Intelligence?

Artificial intelligence (AI) is everywhere—from chatbots that answer questions, draft essays and write code, to virtual assistants and self-driving cars. In the workplace, it is estimated that 99% of Fortune 500 companies use AI...

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